Melissa is a Senior Archaeologist with the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research. She received her B.A. in Anthropology from James Madison University (2012), and after a Titanic documentary piqued her interest in scuba diving and shipwrecks, she went on to receive an M.A. in Maritime Studies from East Carolina University (2015). Afterwards, she worked various projects all over the world, including Costa Rica, Jordan, Kwajalein, and Bermuda. Now, her interests have taken her to tiny Caribbean islands, where she hopes to train terrestrial archaeologists in the field of underwater archaeology in order to promote and protect submerged cultural heritage.